How to fix high ping in VALORANT

There are a few ways you can fix high ping in VALORANT. The same solution will only work for some players, but there are multiple ways to try and give yourself a more reasonable experience.

Unfortunately, when a fast-paced, precision-based FPS like VALORANT has ping issues—you’ll struggle. Players with high ping will infuriate other players in their matches or have difficulty getting any kills. When you find a probable solution, your games should be much more stable, increasing your winning chances against other players. This is not fun for anyone involved. Here’s what you need to know about how to fix your ping in VALORANT

How to fix high ping in VALORANT, explained

Terrible ping can cause so many unnecessary deaths in VALORANT, so trying as many fixes as possible is a good idea. Keep going even after one solution fails to fix the issue. The problem might be a simple solution, or it could be more complicated than you initially think.

Here are a few common ways to restore or improve your ping while playing VALORANT.

1. Restarting your modem and router
2. Repairing game cache and files
3. Closing background apps and clear programs
4. Choosing a different game server
5. Using an ethernet cable
6. Restarting the Riot Client application

The most common practice you can do is restart your internet modem and router, turning it off and on again. While it is a clichéd piece of advice for a reason, when your modem and router are left on for long periods, their cache builds up loads and holds onto loads of unnecessary data. A simple restart clears the cache and could reduce your ping issues without much fuss.

If turning off your modem does not work, you can also try repairing the VALORANT game caches. This may sound like a tricky technical task, but the Riot client makes it easy. With the Riot client open, you’ll want to click on your profile picture in the top right portion of the screen. Click on “Settings” from the dropdown menu, click on “VALORANT,” and finally, click on the large “Repair” button at the bottom of the screen.

If everything looks good and there’s nothing to repair, the next step is to check your background problems. You might have some applications that you need to use when you play VALORANT that are still running unnoticed in the background, causing your game not to run at peak performance. To monitor what apps you have open and close the resource hogs, you’ll want to hit your computer’s Windows Logo key simultaneously and R. This opens your “Run Dialog” box where you’ll want to type “resmon” and hit Enter.

With your “Resource Monitor Window” open, you can see what applications pull resources from your CPU, Disk, Memory, and Network. You’ll want to look specifically at the Network section for ping issues. Close anything you aren’t using that’s high up in the “Total” column, but make sure you know what applications you’re closing. It’s best only to close something if you are partially sure what it is so you don’t accidentally shut down something important.

If the problem persists while playing VALORANT, it might be time to switch game servers. There are multiple servers players can choose to connect to, and you’ll want to select the server closest to you for the best results. If you still need to do this, making the swap can help your ping.

The last thing you can do to help boost your experience is modify your setup so you’re closer to your router. There might be better solutions than this if your gaming setup is far away from your router or modem, but playing through a wired connection rather than over Wi-Fi can significantly reduce the amount of ping you experience in the game.

Finally, after all that, the last step you should try to do is close the game and leave it all together. Then, you will have to log in again. After you’ve logged in, the Riot Client will have restarted. You can log back into the game to see if anything you’ve done has improved your game.

If you’re still experiencing ping issues while playing VALORANT, the next step might be to contact Riot Support and directly ask the team if they can provide any assistance. Make sure to give as much context as possible about the issues you’ve been having and any relevant screens of what you’ve done to try improving your ping. The support desk might have a better solution for you.

How to check your ping in VALORANT

With VALORANT open, you’ll want to click on “Game Settings,” jump to the tab labeled “Video,” and click on “Stats.” These settings allow you to have various pieces of game information playing over your screen, but the one you want for displaying ping is “Network Round Trip Time.” You can choose whether you want the information displayed via text, graph, or both, but you’ll have to jump into a game to see your ping.

What is ping and why is it important in VALORANT?

For those unaware, ping in online video games refers to your internet latency. It’s the time between your internet connection and registering a command on the server. The higher your VALORANT ping, the more likely you will be frustrated with gameplay that lags noticeably behind your input.

Now that you can see your ping, you’ll want to make sure it’s somewhere between 50 and 100. This is the ideal range, but your game should still be enjoyable if your ping exceeds 100. Of course, with VALORANT being a competitive shooter, the lower your ping, the better. Lower ping means a more responsive experience with less latency. Hopefully, this helps give you a better experience when you’re playing this challenging shooter against other players.